History GCSE

Exam Board: Edexcel

History is an opportunity to understand and explain our modern society. In a fast developing world, History examines the causes, events and results of changes in a variety of times and places. It teaches students to think critically and challenge what they are being told to help them make their own independent, rational decisions. Throughout the different units of study, students will develop valuable historical skills of understanding complex human events. Students explain significant events and use evidence to support their reasoned judgements.

How the course is assessed

There will be three separate exam papers at the end of Year 11. Paper 1 30% Paper 2 40% Paper 3 30% There is no Controlled Assessment or Coursework.

Suitable Candidates

There are four units of study:

Migrants in Britain, c800–present and Notting Hill, c1948–c1970 (Paper 1)

A thematic study of the experiences of migrants to and within Britain since c800 looking at who has arrived, why people have migrated and their experiences upon arrival. It will analyse the changing factors over time which contribute to migrants’ experiences. It includes a focused local study on London’s Notting Hill district between 1948 and 1970.

Early Elizabethan England, 1558 to 1588 (Paper 2)

Students explore a pivotal moment in English history as the country transformed under its most famous queen. The unit begins with the religious, political and gender turmoil of the Tudors. It considers how England achieved a fragile stability and dramatically defeated a global superpower.

Superpower Relations, from 1941 to 1991 (Paper 2)

This unit looks at how the two ‘superpowers’ of the USA and USSR dominated the globe in the ‘Cold War’ for five decades. Students will understand why and how the two sides went from wartime friendship to the brink of nuclear destruction. They will also see how this dangerous conflict dramatically ended with demonstrations of people power in 1989.

Germany, from 1918 to 1939 (Paper 3)

Students will examine how Germany struggled through the 1920s before the election of Adolf Hitler and the descent into the nightmare of the Nazi dictatorship in the 1930s. History is suitable for students who have enjoyed the subject in Key Stage 3, are inquisitive and curious about the world around them, and want to develop their critical thinking and communication skills.

Post 16 Progression Routes

GCSE History is a very flexible qualification. It provides a strong starting point for the further study of History, Politics, Law, Sociology, Classics and other social sciences. The skills in History are important in a wide range of careers as it teaches students to think critically, organise information effectively, explain, prioritise and justify their ideas.

Student Comments

“It is interesting, fun, and gives you a great sense of historical knowledge that you can apply to new issues.” “History is great. It is for people who like to find out about why things happen. It also interlinks with other subjects like sociology, RS, Psychology.” “It is a subject where I enjoy when I learn.”